Well, I've been into the language for about 3 years. I've really been in the calligraphy thing so I picked up a few words here and there and learned the strokes and how to pronounce them. I was learning Spanish at the time and didn't want to start on another language, but now I've grown to love Japanese and I've been causally studying for about 3-4 months now. I started my serious study as of the 1st. My classes start in a week or so.